Nightmares Silenced
by knoteach
Summary: 7 in the ATF Precious Gems Universe Ezra's nightmares are coming to life, can Chris and the rest of the team protect him from the darkness?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I make no claims to the characters in the following story. I recieve no money or other recompense from these writings. they are intended solely for the purposes of entertainment

* * *

Author's Notes:

Just wanted to answer a couple questions that had come up at various times.

In this story, Ezra is 10, Vin is 14, and JD is about to turn 7. This takes place about 19 months after A Precious Discovery.

Series sequence is as follows: A Precious Discovery, I Sing Noel, Nightmares Silenced, and Coming Full Circle. (At the moment anyway, more to come eventually.)

Also...the word 'Da' is the Irish version of the American 'Dad'.

* * *

Nightmares Silenced  
knoteach

Chris was working at his desk, going over reports when his cellphone rang, giving him a welcome distraction. As far as he was concerned, reports were a necessary evil, to be avoided when ever possible.

Answering it, he barked his usual brusque, "Larabee."

The voice that answered him was young and female, not anyone that he would have expected to call him at the office. "Mr. Larabee, this is Mrs. Chege, Ezra's teacher at Mountainside."

She sounded worried to Chris, and he was already starting to stand as he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well, there has been an incident involving your son Ezra, and Vin hasn't been able to calm him like he usually can. Would it be possible for you to come to the school?"

As soon as Chris had heard the words _incident_ and _Ezra_ in the same sentence, he had been on his way out the door, not bothering with his jacket or anything other than making sure he had his keys and wallet. As he passed Josiah's desk, he hit it hard to get the man's attention then pointed to the ceiling, signaling that Josiah was to go tell the Judge that something was up. The thump on Josiah's desk had attracted the attention of the other two, and Chris waved for them to come with him. All this was accomplished before the teacher had been able to finish her explanation.

"I'm on my way," Chris assured her before signing off. "There's something up with Ezra at the school ," Chris explained to his team without slowing or turning. "Even Vin hasn't been able to calm him down."

Upon hearing that, matching grim expressions came to the other three men's faces. Josiah broke off to go tell Judge Travis something was up and they'd contact him later. He'd catch up to them at the school. The other three hurried to the parking garage and their vehicles, Chris bolting out of the elevator straight for his Ram and Nathan and Buck heading for Nathan's Bronco. Both drivers pealed rubber on their way out of the drive, causing several cars to honk their horns in outrage.

* * *

Chris slid the Ram to a halt right outside the front door of the school then sprinted into the building, Buck and Nathan right behind him.

The location of the problem was quite obvious as there were several teachers standing outside a small storage room. Mrs. Chege, who Chris recognized immediately from their previous meetings, was among them. Her face, lined with worry, cleared a little when she saw them coming and she hurried to meet them.

"We're not sure what happened. Ezra was in study hall, and asked to read one of the newspapers we have come daily." Chris nodded his understanding, since Ezra did the same thing at home everyday. "He only had it for a few minutes when he suddenly threw it down and ran from the room. One of the teachers followed him, but he's wedged himself behind one of the sets of shelves. We got Vin to try to talk him out, but he won't come out. He has called for you a couple of times though."

Chris nodded as he headed into the storage room, telling Buck over his shoulder, "Get that newspaper, I want to see it." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another teacher handing Buck the newspaper, and mentally congratulated them, they were quick thinkers.

Entering the small room, he immediately saw Vin squatting down to talk to Ezra, who was hidden from view behind an old metal shelf unit. He could also hear the whimpering sobs that he had come to associate with Ezra's nightmares.

"Vin," Chris called softly. Vin looked up at him, his eyes filled with worry, before standing and moving aside quickly.

Chris quickly knelt in the space Vin had vacated. "Ezra?"

The only answer at first was whimpers and sniffles, but Chris kept calling and eventually a tiny voice floated out, "Da?"

"Yes, Ezra, it's Da," Chris assured him. He had barely finished the sentence when he found himself hit full force by an auburn-haired projectile. Ezra clung to him, tears still streaming down his face, babbling so fast that Chris couldn't understand him. "Whoa, easy, son, easy." Chris soothed as he held the boy close and rubbed his back. It took a few minutes, but Ezra finally slowed down and Chris was finally able to make out what he was saying.

"She's coming back, just like she said! Don't let her take me away, Da! Please, don't let her take me!" Ezra begged, his whole body trembling in fear.

When Chris finally understood what Ezra was talking about he tightened his arms around his son and rested his cheek against the short curls on his son's head. There was no way in hell anyone was going to take his boys away. Gently, Chris whispered in Ezra's ear, "It's alright, Ezra, she's not taking you any where." Even though it took another fifteen minutes for Ezra to be able to stop crying, that simple reassurance was all that was needed to stop the frantic pleading.

For his part, Chris was determined top follow through on that promise. There was no way Maude Standish was going to get her hands on that boy again. Looking up he saw Vin still in the room watching them, and from the expression on his face, he had heard Ezra's words. Chris nodded at him and motioned toward the door. Vin indicated he understood, then slipped outside to tell them that Ezra was out.

Chris shifted the still trembling Ezra, but didn't release him. Ezra had gained weight in the last year and a half, but he was still light enough for Chris to carry him. Very carefully, Chris stood carrying Ezra, who was still wrapped around him. Walking out of the room, he found that most of the teachers had left, but Mrs. Chege, the principal, Mr. Ellis, Nathan, Buck, Josiah, and Vin were all still there.

"Mrs. Chege, can you show Buck where Ezra's locker is? We'll need his gym clothes," Chris requested. She immediately agreed and led Buck down the hall toward the gymnasium. Turning to Mr. Ellis, he asked, "Is there some place a little more private we can take this?"

"The school nurse's office is just a few doors down," the man offered.

"That'll do. Come on," Chris led the group toward the door the man had indicated. Since his hands were full, he had to stop and wait for Nathan to get in front of him to open the door. Heading on in, he found it just as he remembered from his tour of the building the year before. Chris went over to one of the treatment rooms at the back, "When Buck gets back, send him on in here." Nathan didn't quite understand, but he went ahead and opened the interior door and let Chris go in.

Chris used his elbow to turn on the light, before going over to sit down on the cot with Ezra. They remained silent until Buck came in with the small gym bag Ezra kept at the school. At Buck's entrance, Ezra was startled and started to whimper, until he recognized Buck's soothing voice.

"It's just me, Short stuff," Buck joked weakly, not knowing what to do, but not wanting Ezra to be afraid of him.

Ezra slowly turned his head from its place pressed into the side of Chris's neck to look at him. He smiled just a touch at the familiar nickname.

"There, that's better," Buck praised softly.

"Buck," Chris said quietly. When Buck looked over at Chris questioningly, he continued, "I need to talk to Ezra, then I'll be out." The implied message that he wanted to be alone with Ezra came through clear and Buck headed out.

After the door was shut, Chris hugged Ezra close for a moment, then released him. The boy was still a little shaky, but he was getting better.

"Ezra, I need to go talk to the principal and your teacher for a few minutes. Buck brought your bag so you can change your clothes." Chris said kindly.

At first Ezra looked at him a little confused, then he looked down at himself, and for the first time he realized than in his fear he had lost control of himself. Ezra's face flushed bright red in shame and he turned his face away from Chris, but Chris would have none of that. Very gently, Chris turned his face back toward him.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Ezra. Sometimes you just can't control your fear or your reactions to it," Chris tried to comfort him.

"But…" Ezra tried to protest, but Chris cut it off with a finger to Ezra's lips.

"No, buts. I might not react the same way to fear that you do, but when I do, it's just as hard to control. I've had a lot more time to practice than you have, and it's still hard." Chris caressed Ezra's hair gently, before pointing toward the door and continuing. "You'll safe in here. There's only one door and I'm going to be standing right outside it until we're ready to leave. You just come on out when you're ready."

Ezra looked from Chris to the door, then around the room just to make sure. "Okay, Da."

Chris stood and set the gym bag down beside Ezra on the cot. Before turning away, Chris ruffled Ezra hair in affection, and smiled when Ezra made an attempt at smoothing it back out, while squawking, "Da!"

Ezra would be all right. Now, to make sure he stayed that way. Chris headed for the outer office to find out what the hell had scared his son so badly.

* * *

Chris's face was set in grim lines when he stepped through the door into the nurse's office.

"What have you got, Buck?" Chris demanded as he strode over to where they had the offending newspaper spread out on the desk.

"These are the pages they think Ezra was looking at when he ran," Josiah informed Chris as he moved between Nathan and Buck.

Chris looked at the copy of the Rockies Gazette; a newspaper that he himself didn't subscribe to as it reported frequently more about the lives of celebrates than it did real news. Scanning it, he found his gaze pulled to a picture at the top of the left page. It showed a couple getting out of a black limousine, the man he knew by vaguely sight as a business man of some renown in Denver, but the woman…he knew her all too well. This was the woman that Ezra had sketched last year. The one that had plagued his nightmares for years.

This was Maude Standish!

Buck, Nathan, and Josiah all saw the growing rage on Chris's face and were worried that he was going to blow at any moment. The fire in his eyes when he looked up at them made them all take a step backward.

Chris looked up, ready to blast someone for what had happened to his boy, but really there was no one to blame. He was the only that had ever seen the sketch of the woman, and that had been an accident. Swallowing his anger, Chris forcibly calmed himself and spoke evenly and distinctly. Stabbing the picture with one finger, Chris ground out, "That is Maude."

As one, Buck, Nathan, and Josiah responded, "WHAT!"

"I saw a sketch Ezra did of her last year, and that's her," Chris confirmed, his voice promising the woman a world of hurt if she came anywhere near that precious boy again.


	2. Chapter 2

My apologies for the delay in getting back to this story. Thank you for your patience. I hope to be able to get more up on this story fairly wuickly, but at the moment I just have some notes, nothing solid.

knoteach

* * *

PART 2

Seeing the trepidation on the faces of the teacher and the principal, Chris sighed, "Ezra's mother abandoned him on the streets about three years ago, with the promise to come back and get him when he would be of use to her." Folding the paper up so that the picture would be more obvious, he held it up and pointed to the woman. "This is her."

Both the teacher and principal came to look at the twenty something blond woman that was in the picture. Both committing the face to memory as the silently swore never to allow her anywhere near Ezra, if they could help it.

Chris watch the two carefully and was relieved to see the determined expressions on their faces, he could tell that they had just joined them in their cause to protect Ezra. Hearing a quiet swish behind him, Chris turned to see Ezra peaking out of the treatment cubical and hurried over to him. Chris squatted down a took the gym bag from Ezra's still slightly shaking hands and passed it to Josiah, who had walked up behind him, then waved for him to go back with the others. "Better now, Ezra?" he asked gently.

Ezra nodded, but didn't speak, and Chris could tell he was still embarrassed by his loss of control. Reaching out, Chris gathered the slight ten-year-old in a hug, then kept hold of him as he stood. Chris rejoiced silently as young arms wrapped around him neck and held on tight. Turning his head slightly, he whispered into the boy ear, "No one saw anything, Ezra." Ezra relaxed just a little more when he heard that, and Chris patted his back as he turned to where everyone was standing.

Seeing the expressions on the faces of his three teammates and his eldest son, Chris decided it would be best to get them all out of there. Turning to the principal he said, "Mr. Ellis, I think it might be best to get the boys out of here. It's Friday so they won't be missing much will they?"

Mr. Ellis only took a moment to think about it. "It'll be no problem, Mr. Larabee."

Chris nodded then caught Buck's eye and jerked his head toward the door. It was time for them to go get JD. Mrs. Chege veered off to go back to her class, but Mr. Ellis stayed with the four agitated men as the marched through the school after the youngest boy in Mr. Larabee's care. When they made it to the classroom door, Larabee stopped, not wanting to have all of them barging in and disrupt class.

Seeing the black clad man's dilemma, the principal said, "Why don't Mr. Wilmington and I go in and get JD?"

Chris nodded, JD knew Buck and would know that it was serious, but they wouldn't disrupt the class too much that way.

It only took a minute or two for Buck to collect their youngest, but to Chris it seemed like an eternity. When they came back out, Chris was about ten seconds from barging in to see what was taking so long.

Buck carried JD out of his class room, his eyes as big a saucers as he took in everyone standing in the hall. Buck hadn't told him what was going on, only that they had to leave now, and the seven-year-old was worried. That concern was not helped in anyway, when he saw Ezra firmly wrapped in Chris's arms, clinging to his foster father as if he never wanted to let go.

Seeing Buck and JD exit the room, Chris did a quick visual assessment of them, noting JD wide-eyed face and the grim set to Buck jaw. It was time to get out of here. Chris turned toward the entrance to the school where he had left his truck and announced, "Let's move, boys."

Mr. Ellis stayed where he was by the classroom door and watched as they moved away. Mr. Larabee was undoubtedly the leader of the strange group, but it was interesting to note the way Wilmington and Vin stepped up beside, but half a step behind him, with Jackson and Sanchez behind them. Ellis shivered a little as he watched them exit the building. He was sure glad they weren't after him. It almost made him feel sorry for Maude Standish, then he remembered the scars that he had seen on the then nine-year-old Ezra's back during a gym class he had observed.

As he remembered that, he silently swore. As far as he was concerned, people that would do that sort of thing deserved whatever they got!

* * *

As Chris exited the building he had a moment of indecision as to how to transport the boys. He didn't want them out of his sight and he didn't want to give up his hold on Ezra yet. Glancing at the men beside him, he could see the same feelings reflected in their eyes.

"Josiah, can we use your truck?" Chris asked.

"Sure, Chris," Sanchez replied.

"Thanks, you take my truck and meet us at the office," Chris ordered as he headed for the suburban, Buck trailing behind after getting the keys from Josiah. Chris slid into the passenger side of the front seat, never losing his grip on the boy that clung to him. Buck helped JD into the back seat and got him settled while Vin crawled in on the other side, then hopped into the driver's seat and took off for the Federal Building.

* * *

Judge Travis was more than a little worried about his best team. Josiah had rushed into his office about an hour ago and announced that they had an emergency with the boys and would be back later. As much as Travis didn't want to admit it, he had come to treasure those boys too. It was almost like having three more grandsons. The way that Chris came to him for advice on how exactly to handle them at times reminded him of Stephen coming to him when Billy had been first born. Chris had been a father before, but there were so many differences between his experiences with Adam and his current situation with Vin, Ezra, and JD that he just needed someone who would understand to listen once in a while. And while his team was getting close to the boys too, none of them had been fathers. So he came to Travis.

So when security called his office to tell him that Team 7 had checked back in, he headed down to their offices immediately to find out what in the world was going on.

Stepping out on the sixth floor, Travis stopped and watched them through the windows, observing, trying to get some kind of handle on the situation before entering. All four men were in the office, but while Josiah and Nathan were busily working at their computers, their faces blank masks of concentration as they worked, Buck and Chris were obviously a bit preoccupied.

The three boys that had become part of this unique, if a bit dysfunctional, family of theirs were also in the office. JD was sitting in Buck's lap as the dark-haired agent used one hand to type commands into the terminal. The other arm was wrapped securely about the little boy's middle, as if afraid he would disappear if he let go. Travis noted the expression of mixed confusion and fear on the young boy's face and wondered what had caused it. Wilmington's expression was one of determination and worry.

Looking over at the team leader, he found Chris was pacing around looking at what each of his men was working on, while carrying Ezra. Travis almost did a double take as he noted the way Ezra was clinging to Larabee. The boy had been skittish at best about being touched since they found him and would only voluntarily be picked up if he were sick or injured. Even since he had settled into Chris's place and accepted that Chris did love him, he didn't really like it, and Chris respected that. He didn't look ill now, and Jackson wasn't fussing over him, so there was a good bet he was in good health. So what had shaken the boy badly enough to allow this? Looking at his face, Travis again wondered what kind of parent would teach a six year old to create a poker face to rival hardened criminals. One that he still used when he was upset over something. And right now his face was as blank as Travis had ever seen it.

Shaking his head, Travis caught sight of Vin, standing behind Buck, but keeping his gaze on the pacing Chris. He was on guard, Travis realized. He was as close to JD as he could get without disrupting Buck, yet keeping an eye on Ezra's position at all times. Vin stood at attention, as if anticipating having to move quickly, ready for anything. Something was up for sure.

Shaking himself out of his reflections, Travis quickly entered the room, but stopped short when he found himself facing four guns held by his own agents. Looking at them, he noted that Vin suddenly had possession of JD and Chris had been holding Ezra with his left hand. While he still held him, he had turned so that any intruder would be in his direct line of sight, putting his body between Ezra and the threat.

Chris breathed deeply as he let his arm drop and holstered his weapon. "Sorry, Judge. We're a little jumpy right now." His three men followed his example, all looking a little sheepish at having pulled their weapons on their own boss.

"Obviously," Travis said dryly as he watched the embarrassed flushes creep up their faces. "Now, if you could explain what in the world has sent you gentlemen into this state of high alert?" Travis wasn't about to pull any punches.

Travis watched Chris look around for a second before grabbing a piece of newspaper that was sitting on the edge of Jackson's desk and handed it to him. Travis raised an eyebrow, but when no explanation was forth coming, he unfolded it and looked at it. Seeing nothing on it that would have set this off, he scowled as he looked up at Chris. "It's society rag, Larabee. What has this got to do with..."

Chris cut him off as he jabbed a finger at the picture that had started this. "That is Maude Standish," he growled.

"What!" Travis thundered back, studying the picture more closely. She was quite beautiful. He never would have pegged her as a person that could or would terrorize a child, leaving her own son scarred, but physically and emotionally. After memorizing the face, Travis looked up at the blond standing by his side, waiting to see what he would say. "Take what ever time you need, Chris. I'll have this picture distributed around the building. She would be trying anything on my watch!" With that he stalked out of the office, muttering under his breath.

Watching his boss leave, Chris released the breath he had been holding. Looking down at the chestnut head still resting on his shoulder, he thanked God again for his boss. They had just been given tacit permission to go hunting!

Turning around he smiled wolfishly, just like the three other members of ATF Team 7. "Let's get her, boys!"


	3. Chapter 3

YIKES!!! It's almost been a year…again! I'm so sorry, everybody. I have not abandoned the story, and I will finish it!...Eventually…My muse has been annoyingly silent about this story arc for a while. Hopefully she'll find her way back to it soon. Anyway, here is another piece, enjoy.

Knoteach

P.S. Thanks to everyone that reviewed the story. It helps to know someone is still reading it and interested.

Part 3

The next three weeks were tense for the members of team 7 and their three charges. The judge had kept their work load light, but they still had cases to investigate as well as their self-imposed investigation of Maude Standish, or as she was known at the moment Margaret Harrison nee Simpson. What they had come up with was interesting, but nothing that tied the woman to Ezra. Right now all they could do was wait and see what she would do, and that was driving them all to distraction.

It was perhaps Chris's greatest fear that Maude would snatch Ezra from the school without him having a chance to stop her. It took all of Buck's not inconsiderable powers of persuasion, not to mention Josiah reminding him that Social Services might pull the boys out of his care altogether, to get him to allow Ezra to go to school the next week. In order to help allay his fears, Josiah and Nathan hunted up more pictures of Maude that had appeared in the paper in previous years and asked the principal to circulate them throughout the school. It wasn't a perfect fix, but until she surfaced it was the best they could do.

The waiting, though, was driving Chris to distraction.

On the fourth Wednesday afternoon after the incident, Chris was back in his office. The paperwork from the bust they had worked the day before was all done, and Chris was back to trying to trace down Maude and Ezra's past. One of the most infuriating things about the situation was that Ezra could not remember his father's name, first or last. The only things he could remember were the sound of his father's voice and that hey had been some place in Georgia. He hoped Ezra might eventually remember more, but he didn't want to upset the boy right now.

From what Ezra had said, it appeared that Maude had walked out on her husband and son when the man had been diagnosed with cancer just after Ezra's birth. When Ezra's father died just under three years later, she had suddenly shown up, all tears and sob story about how she hadn't known that her poor estranged husband had been sick. Ezra's memories were spotty at times, but it did fit with what they knew of her character.

Sighing Chris leaned back in his chair, his gaze landed on a letter that had arrive this morning. Why did this have to be happening now, he wondered. He had requested the paperwork to begin adoption proceedings last month and finally received it this morning. Chris had been going to talk to the boys about it when the paperwork arrived, but he hadn't told them yet. If this turned out wrong, he wasn't sure what he would do. In a way he was glad he hadn't told them, so they wouldn't have to be disappointed, but Ezra would not know how much he meant to Chris if he wasn't told.

What a mess!

Rubbing his hand over his eyes, Chris was about to start on the report again when his cellphone rang. Glaring at the innocent piece of plastic, Chris reached for it. He had been inordinately nervous about answering any phone ever since their rushed trip to school had started all of this, and he hated the feeling.

"Larabee," he bit out immediately.

"Mr. Larabee, you might want to get out here. One of the play ground monitors is fairly certain she saw your Mrs. Standish drive past the school a little while ago," came Mr. Ellis worried voice.

Again Chris hit the door of his office running. "I'll be there as soon as possible," Chris hurriedly assured the man before he hung up. Stepping into the bullpen, he didn't slow as he said, "Maude's been spotted around Mountainside!"

The rest of the team instantly dropped what they were doing to follow their team leader. This time instead of going up to tell Travis personally, Josiah grabbed his cell and called up to Travis office. The message he left was short and to the point, "She's at Mountainside."

* * *

Chris ignored the sense of déjà vu that cropped up as he tore out of his truck in front of the school. Storming in the front door, he hurried toward the principal's office to see what he could find out. Hearing voices inside, he threw up his hand to stop his men and listen to what was being said.

"Mr. Ellis, I told you, I didn't know where he was," a young female voice said. Chris could hear just a hint of wateriness in that voice and would be willing to bet the woman either was crying or had been in the recent past.

"I understand that, Ms Martinson, but I cannot allow you to take a child from the premises without speaking with the police and the boy's guardian. I've contacted the officers that originally found your son and his guardian, and they are on their way. Once they get here, we will be able to get everything straightened out," Ellis replied.

"Of course, I understand. But couldn't I at least see Ethan? I haven't seen him since he was kidnapped two years ago." There was a pleading note in the voice now, but Chris ignored that in favor of the obvious fact that this was Maude and she was trying to take his son away.

There was no way in hell he was going to let that happen!

From Ellis's words, it sounded like he was going to work it so that they could talk to the woman before revealing who Chris was to Ezra, so he decided to play along.

Turning to the rest of the team, Chris said, "We'll go in and try to find out what her game is, but she isn't taking Ezra anywhere, understood?" After receiving nods from all of the men, Chris turned and knocked on the office door.

"Enter," Mr. Ellis called calmly.

Chris walked, talking in the teary eyed young woman sitting across from the Principal. It was difficult, but he managed to keep the disgust he felt off of his face. She looked exactly as Ezra had drawn her last spring. "Mr. Ellis, you said you had some information on the boys we found?"

"Ms. Martinson, this is Mr. Larabee and his team. They're the one that found the boy. Mr. Larabee, this is Ms Michelle Martinson. She says that her son was kidnapped two years ago and she hasn't seen him since then." Ellis quickly filled Chris is on what the woman was claiming. "She says saw him in the play yard this afternoon, and the description she gave does match the boy Ezra that you found last year."

"I'm sure he's my boy," the still tearful blonde woman insisted. Turning to Chris, she gave him the full effect of quivering lip and tears.

"How can you be so sure?" Chris said gruffly, it was taking everything he had not to take this woman's head off, never mind being civil to her. "You said it has been two years. Children change quickly."

"My Ethan has the most beautiful chestnut hair and green eyes. He looked exactly like his father did at that age. Peyton and I grew up together, and I remember when he was ten he was already a heart breaker," she smiled in fond remembrance.

"Where is you husband, ma'am?" Josiah suddenly asked quietly. Maybe they could get some more information about Ezra's father from her.

The blonde woman looked away in seeming distress and sniffled delicately. "My husband died when Ethan was three. Ethan is all I have left of him. Please, let me see my son. When his guardian gets here, I'm sure he'll understand."

Chris swallowed the retort that immediately sprang to his lips, and settled for a more subdued, "Maybe, but we need to make sure everything is official and legal in cases like this."

When Chris broke off, Buck picked up the conversation. "Chris is real particular about protecting those boys of his, so he'll want to meet you first." It was interesting to be able to tell her exactly the truth, and yet she didn't know who or what he was referring to. If the circumstances had been different, he might have laughed.

"Oh, do you know him?" she asked, innocent curiosity on her face, but if one looked closely, you could almost see the gears turning in her eyes.

All four of the ATF men nodded. Mr. Ellis was glad she was no longer looking at him as he was having a hard time quelling the laughter that was wanting to bubble up at the game they were playing with this woman. He wanted to see the expression on her face when she found out who "Chris" was.

"Quite well," Josiah commented.

"He was with us when we found the boys a year ago last January, and decided to take them in," Nathan spoke for the first time since they had entered the principal's office.

"How was he when you found him?" she asked breathlessly, motherly concerning oozing from every word.

They had to admit, she was good at this, but after witnessing Ezra's nightmares for the last nineteen months, they weren't about to get taken in by her act.

"Ezra was badly malnourished and had a bad case of bronchitis," Chris said flatly.

"Oh, no!" she gasped, a hand coming up to flutter at her mouth. "Is he all right? I mean, he recovered, didn't he?"

"He's fine now," Josiah gently her, though his voice still held elements of aloofness. She was pretty enough for him to want to be polite, but he wasn't about to forget the condition Ezra had been in when they found him, not to mention the abuse that the scars on his body spoke of.

"I must see him," she declared, standing and stepping toward the door. "I need to make sure he's all right."

"Not until his guardian says you can see Ezra," Chris contradicted her as he stepped between her and the door.

She turned angry blue eyes on the tall blond man and demanded, "His name is Ethan not Ezra! And why not?!"

Chris's eyes narrowed, wondering if she was about to give away her own cover. He felt Josiah's hand clamp down on his left arm when he shift as if to step toward the infuriating woman. Silently acknowledging the much needed restraint, Chris said, "He says his name is Ezra. And because the boy was on the streets when he was found. He spent the better part of the next week in the hospital recovering." It wasn't time to tip his hand yet.

"But I'm his mother! I told you he was kidnapped two years ago. I didn't know where he was!" she all but shouted at the black-clad man that was still blocking her way.

"Maybe," Chris drawled, cocking his head to the side. "But that doesn't explain the scars on the boy's back."

The ATF officers watched all the color drain from her face. "You mean they beat him?!" she screamed. Oh, she was really good. She continued ranting; blaming the 'kidnappers', Chris and the ATF, the Department of Children's Services, the doctors, and anyone else she could think of for what had happened to her son.

After she finally wound down, she slumped back into her chair. "When do you think this Chris is going to get here? I want to see my son."

Mr. Ellis looked up at Chris Larabee questioningly. Chris nodded; it was time to quit the act.

"Actually he's here already," Mr. Ellis said.

Maude looked at him in confusion. "What? Oh, you mean he's coming in right now? Wonderful!"

Chris cut her off, "No, he means he is in the room right now. Allow me to re-introduce myself. Special Agent in Charge Christopher Larabee of the United States Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms."

The look of astonishment on her face was priceless.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

The silence didn't last long.

"You're the one keeping me from seeing my son?!" She shouted in rage as she bolted upright from her chair, her eyes snapping fire. Most men would have been taken aback by her display of maternal outrage, but Chris Larabee didn't even blink.

He didn't give any reaction for over a minute, then he started clapping very slowly, a mocking smile forming on his face. "Very well done, ma'am," he drawled, enjoying the look of surprise on her face. "I might even have bought it if I hadn't been caring for Ezra for over a year and a half." Chris stressed the name Ezra, not giving and inch. "I have a reliable witness that puts Ezra on the streets for a lot longer than the six months you're claiming, Maude." Again Chris stressed the name, making sure she knew that he was well aware of who she was. "Add that to the medical evidence that Ezra has been abused for years…"

"I don't know anything about that," Maude cut him off, hoping to regain control of the situation. She couldn't believe how difficult this had been. She had expected to just slip into the school, grab the boy, and be gone before they could do anything about it. She hadn't counted on meeting up with an all too helpful teacher's assistant just inside the door. The girl had insisted on escorting her to the principal's office, "so she wouldn't get lost in this old rabbit's warren" as she put it.

What Maude didn't know was that there had been someone posted at all of the entrances watching for her.

Chris snorted in derision and overrode her continued protests. "Lady, I don't care what you say, both I and my team know the truth. I'm giving you fair warning right now, stay the **hell** away from my son!" Chris shouted the last sentence at her, not caring if the whole world heard him. Only Josiah's hand kept him from going over there and giving her a more precise description of his opinion of her parenting skills.

"Your son!" Maude shrieked. "He's my son! I'm his mother! I have a right to my own child! I'll take you to court if I have to…"

"You want to bet?" Chris said silkily, again cutting her off. Slipping form Josiah's grip, Chris stepped forward until he loomed over the slight built blonde woman. Finally he allowed the disgust he had been suppressing show in his eyes and gave her his best venomous glare. "I have doctor's reports. I have photographs of Ezra scars. I even have recordings of Ezra sobbing his heart out after waking up from a nightmare. All them tell me quite eloquently all about what you did to that innocent little boy," Chris hissed at her.

"You're not a mother; you just happened to have a baby," Buck said, giving her his own version of the Larabee glare. It wasn't as good as Chris's, but it got the point across.

Maude looked from Chris to Buck, then tried to back away from them, but bumped into something. Looking up she saw the big man with silvering dark hair.

Josiah had stepped up behind Maude as he noticed she looked like she was about to run. Over the last year, Chris had become like a father to the three waifs they had found, but Josiah had found himself in the enviable position of favored uncle, a role that he had come to love. He, Nathan, and Buck got to spoil the boys, while Chris had to deal with any discipline problems, of which, granted, there weren't many. He wasn't about to let this woman take one for their boys away. It would destroy them all.

"Children are a gift from God, ma'am," Josiah rumbled deep in his chest when Maude looked up at him after backing into him. "I believe you gave up the right to that gift when you left him on the streets of Denver to fend for himself."

"And I'm sure family services is more likely to see things my way than yours," Chris continued, drawing her attention back to him.

"I'm sure I could always get Raine to talk to them," Nathan volunteered. He and Ezra might not have gotten along to well at first, but after that first camping trip, he had come to love the quiet little southern boy as much as the rest of the team. Seeing the confused glance Maude cast his way, he smiled, but it was in no way a friendly smile. "Raine is my wife; she's a psychologist that specializes in child abuse victims. Children's Services has never turned down one of her recommendations for placement." The threat was clear that Raine would not be recommending Maude.

Maude looked around the room at the five men, all of who were glaring at her as if wishing she would just drop dead on the spot. There was no way she was going to convince them all that this was all a mistake. Damnit. She couldn't leave the brat here, since she needed him for her next job, but it was going to be such an inconvenience to have to come back for him. Mentally she swore that the boy was going to pay for causing her all this trouble when she got him back.

Plastering a defeated, yet concerned expression on her face, she decided to bow out for now, but this was far from over. "All right, Mr. Larabee, if you feel this strongly about it, I shall leave Ethan in your care for now."

"There's no 'for now' about this, Maude," Chris shot back. "Ezra is my son, and he isn't going anywhere ever. I've initiated proceedings to formally adopt him. As long as Ezra has no objections, I expect that to go forward without a hitch, since it is easily proven that he was abandoned." There was more than a note of warning in his voice. He wouldn't have her messing anything up for Ezra.

Maude mentally swore. This complicated things. She would have to work fast. If the man was already that attached to the brat, he would definitely start looking for him if he disappeared. She would have to rethink her strategy careful. But for now it was time for a graceful retreat.

"Of course. Now I believe that I should be leaving," she said smoothly as she picked up her purse from the place where it had fallen on the floor when she had stood so abruptly at Chris's announcement of his identity.

Chris narrowed his eyes at her, but nodded in agreement, "Nathan, walk her to her car." Chris met Nathan's dark eyes, and saw the understanding there. They weren't about to give her the chance to snatch Ezra on her way out.

Those left behind in the principal's office were silent for a few minutes, thinking over the confrontation they had just been a part of, until Buck chuffed a small, nervous laugh and commented, "At least that's over." Josiah was about to agree when Chris cut him off.

"No," Chris said sharply, never taking his gaze from the door, as if by the force of his will he could see her leave. "Did you see the look in her eyes? This is only the beginning."

Buck, Josiah, and Mr. Ellis all looked at Chris in concern, but none of them tried to argue with him. It was only another minute before Nathan rejoined them and nodded to Chris that she had left without any more problems.

Turning to the principal, Chris started making plans. "We're taking the boys with us today. We'll have to set up some sort of rotation to keep an eye on Ezra. Mr. Ellis, I don't want Ezra to be alone here at anytime. Can you arrange for one of us to be able to sit in on his class each day?"

Ellis looked thoughtful as he said, "That's highly irregular, Mr. Larabee."

Chris sat down tiredly. "I'll get a court order if I have to, but I want someone with him at all times. And with all due respect to your teachers, I think my men would be a little more capable of handling what that woman might come up with."

Seeing that Chris and the principal would have to iron out the details, Buck said, "How 'bout we go get the boys, while you talk?" Receiving an affirmative nod, Buck, Josiah, and Nathan slipped out to go get Vin, Ezra, and JD.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Buck and his teammates walked back into the principal's office with the three boys, all of which looked worried. The ATF agents had decided to hold off telling them exactly what was going on, but the boys were still conscious of what Ezra had found out three weeks before.

Chris had convinced Mr. Ellis to allow one of them to be their as long as Ezra had officially been placed into protective custody. A quick call to the judge had confirmed that the protective custody would be legal, since Chris and Buck had been witnesses to Ezra's confessions of Maude's abuses. They wouldn't be able to keep it up indefinitely, but it would hold for a few weeks. Chris looked up at the knock at the door, and even smiled a little at the sight of the three boys that slipped in with his men.

"Papa!" JD exclaimed in surprise, before running over to give his father a hug.

Chris slipped from his chair to pick up and hug the enthusiastic boy. He never grew tired of the warm feeling he got from JD's honest pleasure at seeing him every day. It had only been within the last two months he had convinced JD and Vin that they could call him 'Dad' or something similar. Even after Ezra had been won over last Christmas, they had held reservations.

Setting the dark haired seven year old down, he gathered the silently waiting Vin and Ezra for hugs. He didn't hold them for as long as JD since he knew they would start getting uncomfortable with the contact quickly.

"What's wrong, Pa?" Vin asked quietly. Vin's expression might have looked calm to most people, but to the members of ATF Team 7, it screamed his worry and unease. Chris was about to answer when Ezra spoke up.

"She has come for me, has she not?" Ezra said in a flat voice. "When must I be prepared to accompany her?" Ezra was trying so hard to be brave, yet it wasn't that difficult to see that he was scared to death. If one watched him closely, you could see just the slightest tremor in his hands.

Chris immediately knelt down and put his hands on Ezra arms, ignoring the small flinch Ezra gave at the contact. "You are not going anywhere, Ezra Standish. Yes, she showed up here at the school this afternoon, but I am not going to let that woman take you anywhere. You're my son now."

Ezra looked at Chris with old eyes. While his heart was warmed by the love in Chris's eyes, he couldn't see how Chris would be able to fight her. He knew how ruthless she had been in the past when she was denied something she wanted.

Seeing the tired acceptance on his middle son's face, Chris shook his head, then pulled him unresisting into another hug. "We'll find away, Ezra. I give you my word, you will never be going back to her, as long as I live. And you know I keep my word."

Ezra was still for another second, but then cautiously nodded, a kernel hope taking root in his still scarred heart for the first time since he had seen the picture in the newspaper three weeks ago.


	5. Chapter 5

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Peaks around the corner then dashes for the computer Sorry don't have much time until they catch up with me. Hope you enjoy the chapter. door creaks open and author sees her professor coming after her with a dripping red pen EEEP!! Dashes back to her study room/prison cell

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Part 5

Chris found himself growing ever more nervous over the next several days. By the next Friday, the boys had caught on to his unease and it was telling in their reactions.

JD was jumpier than usual and would not stop talking about how "Papa and Mr. Buck" wouldn't let anything happen to Ezra and the nasty "Miss Maude" wasn't getting anywhere near his brother ever again. Papa and Mr. Buck would throw her in jail and never let her out again.

While his confidence in them was gratifying, his constant chatter was grating on people's nerves, plus it was keeping there worries in the forefront of everyone's minds. Not something that they really needed to be reminded about anyway, but it wasn't helping. Especially since Ezra was fully conscious of the fact that they couldn't arrest her without solid proof of something she had done wrong and even if they did arrest her, she had ways of getting out of the charges. And the chance of keeping her in jail for any extended period of time was less still, since as far as Ezra knew she had no criminal record that could be traced down. All in all, JD's chatter ended up doing the exact opposite of what he intended, which made him try that much harder to cheer up his brother.

Vin was getting quieter and quieter. He never was a chatter box in the first place, but it was getting so that even Chris would lose track of where he was because he simply wasn't making any noise. Raine had told Chris and Buck last year that abused children sometimes learned not to make noise as a defense mechanism and it was a lesson that Vin had obviously learned well.

Ezra was the worst though. The sensitive little boy had become almost an automaton in his interactions with the team that had come to be their family. Only with Vin and JD would he act naturally most of the time. When JD had surprised him one morning, Ezra had whirled around and for just a moment, there had been an expression of terror in his eyes. If Chris had not been behind JD at the time, he never would have glimpsed that flash of fear as Ezra covered it quickly with his usual admonishment to JD that sneaking around was not appropriate behavior. Apparently JD didn't notice Ezra discomfiture, for he just grinned and went ahead and started chattering about that he thought they would be doing as school that day.

As he watched the boys walk into Mountainside, Josiah following close behind, he determined that they all needed a day off and away from the stress. Saturday was usually the team's day off anyway, and some time together and not thinking about Maude would be great. But what should they do?

* * *

After Buck and Nathan arrived at the office, Chris headed out to the bullpen.

"Buck, Nate, come here for a second," Chris called waving the two men over.

Buck raised an eyebrow at him in question, and hurried over. "What's up, Big Dog?" Buck looked more than a little worried. "Something happen after I left this mornin'?"

_Yes,_ Chris thought, _we definitely need to unwind_. "No, just had an idea to run by you guys. I'm thinkin' to get the boys off the ranch for a few hours tomorrow and thought we might could make it a team outing. Nate, you'd be more'n welcome to bring Raine with you. I know the boys would love to see her some outside her office. What d'ya think?"

Buck and Nathan both smile widely. This was a great idea!

"That's a great idea!" Nathan said. "Raine was just mentioning yesterday that she wished she could spend more time with the boys."

"So where are we taking them?" Buck said, excitement coloring his voice. Buck was still a little child at hear sometimes.

Chris shrugged, "Don't know. It's getting' a bit cold for trail rides. Any other ideas?"

Nathan and Buck both thought about it for a few moments, then Buck's face lit up.

Chris looked at him warily. Buck tastes in entertainment were not always suited for those under the age of twenty, let alone boys less than fifteen.

Noticing the expression on his best friends face, Buck looked affronted. "Hey! I'm not that bad! I was just thinkin' that Cindy mentioned that the fairgrounds down past Purgatorio have opened back up. Supposed to be a real nice place for kids now!" You could tell how excited the big man was by the way he was beginning to bounce on his toes.

Chris looked uncertain about that suggestion. It was a few miles past the notorious gang section of Denver, but being that close to Purgatorio still wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Come on, Chris," Buck practically whined. "I'll bet the boys have never been to a County Fair before, 'cept for maybe Vin when he was really little. They'll love it!"

Appealing to Chris's love for those boys was just about as sure fire a way to get him to agree as there was, and Buck knew it. This time though Chris's reservations about the boys' safety held him back from agreeing immediately.

"We'll all be there with them, Chris," Nathan assured his team leader, catch a little of Buck's excitement at the idea. He hadn't been to a good fair in several years himself, and began to look forward to it.

Clamping down on his gut reaction of _Hell NO! I am not taking my boys anywhere near that place!_ Chris thought about the idea a bit more clearly. The South County Fairgrounds was a good five miles past the edges of Purgatorio and Nathan, Raine, and Buck, at the least, would be with them. If Josiah agreed to come too, that would be five adults with the boys. That should be all right. They would just have to keep a close eye on them and make sure the boys never left their sight.

Nodding slowly, Chris agreed. "That should work. I'll have to call Josiah later to see if he can come."

"He will," Nathan state with a grin. "There's no way he'd miss it."

_True_, Chris mused. _Josiah is probably almost as attached to those boys as Buck is. Give him half a chance and I think he'd try to adopt them himself._ Chris rolled his eyes as he turned back toward his office. _Of course he would, why else had he been leaving pamphlets on adoption proceedings in strategic places about the ranch for the last ten months!_

Just as predicted, Chris's call to Josiah met with a hearty, "Of course! I'd love to come with you all." It also yielded information about the price of tickets, as Josiah had been going to suggest the fair to Chris before the situation with Maude has sprung up. He just hadn't felt comfortable making the suggestion with as tense as everything had been since them.

Chris smiled freely for the first time in days as he hung up the call. It would great to get away from the city for a few hours and just be together as a team. If Chris noticed how much they were all beginning to be family to each other, he steadfastly ignored it.

* * *

By common consent, Chris and Buck decided not to tell the boys about the upcoming outing until the next morning. They figured if they did tell them, JD would be too excited to sleep and a sleepy JD could be a bit of a handful, even for highly trained Federal Law Enforcement Agents. Whiny seven year-olds just were not part of the training course, leaving Buck, Chris, Nathan, and Josiah out of luck and without a clue how to deal with the situation, as they had found out before.

Instead, Chris and Buck picked them up from school and with a quick nod and hand motion indicated for Josiah to be at the ranch the next morning and they'd head out from there. In keeping with Raine's recommendation on the boy's fear of separation, Chris and Buck allowed the boys to decide who would ride with Buck and who would ride with Chris. They would then play follow the leader back to the ranch. To their surprise, instead of Vin volunteering to go with Buck, JD was the one to pipe up and say he wanted to go with him. Buck smiled hugely and Chris was sure there was just a hint of wateriness in the man's blue eyes.

Smile still plastered all over his face, Buck bent down and asked, "You sure, Short Stack?"

Trying to be brave, JD nodded, and said, "I'm a big boy, and I know you coming home, too, Mr. Buck."

With a loud whoop, Buck scooped up the now squealing JD and headed off to his classic pickup laughing.

Chris, Vin, and even Ezra smiled as they watched the two stride off laughing. It was an honestly happy sound that he hadn't heard much of over the last couple of weeks.

Look back to his two elder boys, Chris grinned himself, "Guess you got stuck with me this time."

Vin just shrugged and grinned at his father, but Ezra looked slightly nervous. "Da, we want to ride with you, really. You know that right?"

Not wanting Ezra to retreat back to the way he had been acting for the last couple of days, Chris quickly reassured him. "Of course, Ez. I'm just joking with you."

Ezra let out small sigh of relief. He really didn't want his Da getting the idea that he didn't want to be here with him. He was just nervous about what Maude was going to do, and sometimes it was hard not slip back into the defenses he had built up before she left him here.

Chris smiled as he watched the boys climb into the truck. It would be good for the boys to have a bit of time away from all of this stress. He just couldn't wait for tomorrow to get here.


	6. Chapter 6

*peeking around corner* Er, hi everyone *ducks glares* I know it's been a long time, but school and RL have been killer. The good news is I've graduated now. This part is short, but I have to stop here. I've got a poll up on my profile page about how you want the end of the story to go. So please, review, vote, something to tell what you would prefer.

Thank you to everyone that has reviewed and encouraged me to continue the story,

Knoteach

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Part 6

Come Saturday morning, Chris got the boys and Buck up bright and early without giving them an explanation past an admonition that there was much to do.

Chris in particular had to grin as the three bleary-eyed boys trudged into the kitchen for breakfast. He almost burst into laughter when Buck arrived a few moments later with exactly the same expression on his face, though without the grumbling since he knew why they had been rousted out of bed at six a.m. on a Saturday. Chris had seen Buck in his pre-caffeinated state many times, but seeing the four identical expressions, complete with cowlicks sticking out at odd angles all over their heads, was too adorable for words.

"What possible reason could there be for our abandonment of our beds at this ungodly hour?" Ezra groused after he finished eating, glaring at his foster father's grinning countenance with a jaundiced eye.

Chris squashed the urge to chuckle at Ezra's expression, "Buck and I thought you guys might like to get out of the house for a few hours and relax for a while. If you'd rather stay here, like we did last week, and the week before, and the…" Chris explained, enjoying the looks of interest and excitement that were growing on the boys' faces.

"Oh, boy!" JD perked up immediately at the idea of an outing. Predictably he started bouncing in his seat as he asked, "Where are we goin'?"

"Well, we were thinkin' you guys might like to go to the carnival down at the South Fair Grounds. They open up at eight, so we need to get the morning chores done and …" Chris broke off as Vin grabbed Buck's hand and started dragging him out the back door toward the barn.

"C'mon, Buck!" Vin demanded, as the slight built fourteen year old pulled the tall man along. "Sooner we start, sooner we're done!"

Chris smirked at the indulgent expression on the big demolition man's face as Vin and Buck headed out to feed the horses. Turning to JD and Ezra, Chris finished, "Guess that leaves us to get some lunch together to go with us?"

"'Kay," JD chirped as he hopped off his seat, "I'll get the basket!" And with that announcement, JD disappeared into the garage in search of the huge basket they used for team picnics.

Chris shook his head and exchanged a grin with the other remaining occupant of the kitchen. It was impossible not to grin at the seven-year-old's enthusiasm. Seeing the grin on Ezra's face fade into uncertainty, Chris rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Nothing's going to happen, Ezra. All of us are going to be there. Buck, Me, Josiah, Nathan, even Raine is coming."

Chris watched the play of emotions across Ezra's face. It was obvious that Ezra wanted to believe him, but his fears and history with Maude weren't letting him. Silently, Chris drew Ezra into his arms and held him close. Ezra stiffened slightly at first, like always, but after a few seconds he relaxed into the embrace and hugged him back.

"It will be fine, Ezra. We can't let her keep us prisoner to fear. It's time to show her that we aren't afraid of her," Chris whispered. When he felt Ezra nod against his neck, Chris momentarily tightened his hold then released Ezra. Seeing JD coming back into the kitchen, dragging the large, wheeled wicker basket, Chris commented, "Well then, let's get some lunch gathered. We're going to have eight hungry mouths to feed."

(A/N: I've actually seen a basket like this in a store. They called it a "little-leaguer." I think the idea was that you could pack enough food for the entire little league team, but I thought it would work for our boys too. Looks more like a wicker trunk on wheels, than a basket.)

Ezra smirked slightly as he commented, "Perhaps we should consider packing another set of provisions for those of our troupe who will, no doubt, be ravenous before we even manage to board our respective modes of transport to our anticipated excursion. It has been proven that increased activity will lead to an increased appetite. "

Chris just managed to smother his laughter at this suggestion, but JD's next comment aborted the effort and he laughed long and loud.

"Yeah, We'll use Vin's lunch box, and Buck can use mine!" JD offered, smiling in happiness.

Chris nodded as he tried to get his laughter under control, waving JD off to get the two lunch boxes.

For the next thirty minutes, Chris, Ezra, and JD packed a huge picnic feast for their 'excursion,' as Ezra insisted on calling the trip to the carnival. When Buck and Vin entered the house after finishing chores, they were quickly shuffled up stairs to wash and change clothes, while Ezra and JD slipped up stairs to change clothes and finish preparing for the day. Within another ten minutes, all five were ready to head to the cars and Josiah, Nathan, and Raine had arrived. By common consent, they decided to use Josiah's Suburban, since it was the only one of their vehicles that was large enough to fit all eight of them.

"What are those for?" Josiah asked, when he saw Chris carrying JD and Vin's lunch box while Ezra wheeled out the food basket.

Chris didn't have to answer as Buck and Vin's stomachs chose that moment to give a loud growl. Smirking, Chris handed the respective boxes to their intended recipients. "Ezra figured since Buck and Vin handled the morning chores, and knowing Buck's famed metabolism, they might need something to tide them over until lunch."

Buck and Vin both grinned at Chris, and thanked Ezra, who shrugged, but hid a small smile of pleasure.

Josiah and Nathan chuckled, knowing Chris was exactly right; both Buck and Vin had the type of metabolism that models longed for. They could eat practically anything, and everything, they wanted and wouldn't gain an ounce of fat.

"Just watch it, Buck," Nathan warned as he helped his snickering wife into Josiah's truck. "When you hit middle age, you metabolism starts slowing down."

"Ah, but ol' Buck, ain't anywhere near that old," Buck shot back, smiling and puffing out his chest in pride.

"Indeed? Hate to break it to you, Buck, but middle age starts at 40, and since you turned 34 last year…" Raine said, intentionally using a lecturing tone, while grinning at the put out expression on Buck's face. "On the other hand, if one were to go by the old adage that one is only as old as you feel, I'd have to agree with you." Buck brightened momentarily, then Raine gave the punch line. "Because I'd swear you never got passed the stage of being all stomach and hormones." The occupants of the truck broke up laughing at the mock-affronted expression on Buck's face, but Buck couldn't hold it and grinned as he dug through the contents of his lunch box.

Josiah grinned as he started the truck down Chris' long driveway and started toward the carnival. It was good to have the whole family together to relax and enjoy a day without having to worry about who might be around the corner. He really didn't think Maude would be stupid enough to try something in broad daylight with all of them surrounding the boys in public.

* * *


End file.
